Like Sheep without a Shepherd: 60 Years of Sede Vacante

Sixty years without a Pope — how could this happen?

Like Sheep without a Shepherd:
60 Years of Sede Vacante

During last year’s Fatima Conference sponsored by the Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen (CMRI) in Spokane, Washington, Mr. Mario Derksen, pictured below, delivered a lecture on the subject of 60 years of sede vacante since the death of Pope Pius XII on October 9, 1958. We are happy to be able to share the 42-minute audio recording and also a written transcript in this post.

Looking at the extreme devastation of the Catholic landscape that has been wrought in the past 60 years, Mr. Derksen argues that an effect of such a nature and magnitude can only be explained by a correspondingly grave cause. In other words, it is impossible that the false Novus Ordo religion and all its attendant evils could have come from true Catholic Popes: “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit…. Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them” (Mt 7:18,20).

The Papacy, as Cardinal Henry Edward Manning once explained, is the divinely-instituted restraining force that keeps the mystery of inquity at bay, but only until the appointed time: “For the mystery of iniquity already worketh; only that he who now holdeth, do hold, until he be taken out of the way” (2 Thess 2:7). The time when the Pope is “taken out of the way” is now clearly upon us. After delving into some of the historical evidence for the planning and execution of the usurpation of the Papal Throne at the 1958 conclave, the speaker points out that the entire Church must necessarily suffer if the Papacy is oppressed, for where Peter is, there is the Church.

Mr. Derksen reminds his audience that our Faith obliges us to believe without seeing, to accept as true what God has revealed for no other reason than that He has revealed it, He who can neither lie nor be deceived. But do we really believe? The grave trials we are currently undergoing require us to do more than merely profess it. We are challenged to hold fast to what God has promised and revealed despite whatever appearances there might be to the contrary. Alas, our Blessed Lord predicted that only few would persevere: “But yet the Son of man, when he cometh, shall he find, think you, faith on earth?” (Lk 18:8).

As the Papacy is indefectible and the Novus Ordo “popes” have clearly defected, it is therefore a necessary conclusion that the papal claimants after Pius XII have not been true Popes. However, many self-styled traditional Catholics there are who, for one reason or another, cannot bear the thought of having no Pope or of not knowing who and where the Pope is. Tragically, they prefer to accept an obvious counterfeit as Pope instead, even one who is openly heretical, and they simply refuse him submission “as needed” in order not to be infected by his false teachings and impious decrees. As Derksen so aptly says in his talk: “Better [to have] a Pope to refuse submission to than [to have] no Pope to submit to, their strange logic seems to say.”

It is clear that no one has all the answers to this bizarre calamity that has befallen the Catholic Church since the death of Pope Pius XII. However, to recognize manifest anti-Catholics as our legitimate Catholic shepherds and then refuse them submission is most definitely not the right solution.

After briefly addressing the problem of disagreements and divisions among sedevacantists, the speaker concludes his presentation on a positive and exhortative note, reminding us that the omniscient and omnibenevolent God who governs all things is fully in charge and has placed us into these confusing times by His holy Providence “because this time is most favorable to our salvation.” How blessed will we be when we accept this cross for what it truly is, namely, the instrument of our salvation, hand-crafted by a loving God to guide us safely to Eternal Life!

Listen to this exciting talk and share it with friends and family:

Like Sheep without a Shepherd:
Sixty Years of Sede Vacante

by Mario Derksen (Oct. 11, 2018)

(Alternate download link: click here)

A written version of this talk is also available:
“Like Sheep without a Shepherd” (PDF)
(Transcript)

The text of this lecture is also being published in The Reign of Mary and The Four Marks under the slightly modified title, “As Sheep not having a Shepherd”.

For more talks from this conference or to purchase them on CD, and to view photos of the gathering, please see the following links:

• Fatima Conference 2018 Audios – Free Download
• Fatima Conference 2018 Audios – Purchase the Recordings on CD here
• Photos of the 2018 Fatima Conference – with option to purchase DVD

Other talks given at prior Fatima Conferences that may interest you are:

• Culpable Ignorance and the Great Apostasy by Jeffrey Knight (2014)
• The Papacy and the Passion of the Church by Mario Derksen (2016)
• From Protestant Pastor to Sedevacantist: One Man’s Journey of Faith by Drew Emmans (2017)
• An Inside Look at the New Church of Vatican II by Fr. Michael Oswalt (2017)

Image sources: istockphoto.com / cmri.org
License: Paid / fair use